Cigarette lighter

ABSTRACT

A cigarette lighter is disclosed as including a base member having upright supporting posts extending therefrom for supporting a cigarette-lighting element. The unit includes other construction features providing improved heat dissipation means. Electrical power means and electrical contact means therefor are also included with a housing to cover the entire unit. The housing exposes the cigarette-lighter element and provides a means for operating the electrical contact means.

United States Patent Robert D. Kuhn [72] Inventor Rockville Centre, N.Y. [21] AppLNo. 15,465 [22] Filed A Mar.2,1970 [45] Patented Nov. 2,1971 [73] Assignee FedtroJnc.

Roclrvllle Centre, N.Y.

, [54] CIGARETTELIGHTER 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs. 7 [52] U.S.Cl .219/267, 219/266, 219/270 [51] lnt.Cl F23g7/22 [50] FleldofSearch ..219/266-268, 260263,270

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,362,227, 12/1920 Clark 2l9/267X m iJ 1 38 7 I I I I z 22 //I I/ l9 I 25 1 l I I '1 l8! I I I. 11 III 11 i I l I 1,524,828 2/1925 Kasten 219/263 1,548,406 8/1925 -Boes 219/267X 1,908,310 5/1933 Bracht1.... 219/267 X 1,959,093 5/1934 Davis 219/261 2,993,977 7/1961 Balaguer. 219/270 3,277,271 10/1966 Hunt 219/268 Primary Examiner-Velodymyr Y. Mayewsky Attorney-Amster & Rothstein 1 CIGARETTE uoriTER today, the first using the flame principle withan .oil derivative or oil-type product asthe fuel, and secondjcommonly found in automobiles,.using electrical elements forg'enerating heat to ignite the cigarette. The first type sufiers from the disadvantage of providing a substantially uncontrollable flame which might be-a fire hazardmnd thesecond suffers from the hazards-of direct conduction of heat to the user, inadequate protection for the electrical cigarette-lighting element from cigarette tobacco and ashes and generally poor mechanical and utility features. Q

Accordingly, a primaryobject of the present invention isto provide a simple yet reliable electrical cigarette lighter which is both useful and attractive.

A further and more particular object is to provide a cigarette lighter using the electrical element principle of operation which presents a minimum hazard to the user.

A still further object is to provide an electrical element cigarette lighter which incorporates in its construction adequate heat dissipation means to protect the user.

These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of-the present invention by a cigarette lighter construction which includes a cigarette-lighting element "supplied with electric power for causing the element to generate enough heat to light a cigarette, actuation means for controlling the input of the power to the element and a housing which features means'for exposing the element and yet protecting the user fromheat conduction through the housing. Theelement is mounted .on pillars extending from the base of a housing such that a heat sink effect is accomplished providing a convenient means for dissipation of heat generated by the element between and around the pillars. Furtherfeatures-of the invention include means inthe housing for exposing theelement and means for separating the elementfrom the housing to avoid unnecessary heat conduction. The element :is protected by .a selectively perforated protective element cover in order -to prevent a deposit of cigarette tobacco or ashes onto the element during the cigarette-lighting action.

The above brief descriptiomas well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a front perspective view of a cigarette Iig'hteraccording to the present invention, showing particularly the electrical power contact actuator for the device and the :construction'providing exposure of the cigarette lighting element;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the cigarette lighter taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. I and showing particularly the :igarette-Iighting element with the supporting structure therefor as well as the electrical power means and its contact actuator;

FIG. 2A is a bottom view of a ceramic support and an element ring for supporting the lighting element;

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of acigarette lighter according to the present invention taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and showing further features of the present invention; and,

FIG. 4 is a top sectional view of a cigarette lighter taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 2 and showing further details of the construction.

Referring particularly to the drawings, a cigarette lighter is shown as including a housing which defines a front opening 19 for receiving an electrical power cdntact actuator 18 and a top opening for receiving a housing ring 12. The ring 12 is for exposing a cigarette-lighting element 16 which is covered by a protective element cover 14. The ring 12 includes peened flaps 12' for securing the ring to the housing 10 without a pressure fit therebetween. By avoidance of such a pressure fit, the different coefficients ofheat expansion for the metal ring 12 and the plastichousing 10do not provide a risk of cracking the plastic. Accordingly,.a housing ring significantly smaller than the top opening defined by the. housing l0'may be used in a construction according to the present invention. The element cover .14 may be formed of any material which has maximum heat-conducting properties and .yet is virtually indestructible by heatexposure. Mica is the suggested material but other materials are also usable. The element cover 14 defines openings-l5for allowingheatdissipationfrom the element 16.'The element I6 .is a conventional cigarette-lighting elementconstructed in a spiral arrangement with the element .being coiledformaximum resistance'and heatdissipation.

.As seen most clearly from FIGS. 2 and 3,, the cigarette lightertis suppliedby electrical powermeans 20 which provideselectrical powerthrough contact-wire 24 to a stationery contact 26 which is mountedon stationery contact base 26'. The contact actuator 18 is provided witha contactactuator extension 18' inserted to the moving contact extension-receiving hole 25'..defined bythe moving contact25. The moving contact 2-5 is mountedon moving contact .base 25" which is electrically connectedeto an element input'wire base 22'. An

element input wire 22 is connecteddirectly'from the element inputwire base 22'gto the cigarette-lighting element 16 (FIG. 4). The electrical return is provided by a connection from the cigarette-lightingelement 16 through element return wire 23 which is connected to the electrical powermeans through element return wire base 23'.

Heat dissipation in the unit is provided in part by a construction featuring heat contact separation posts 38 for separating the cigarette-lighting element 16 from thehousing and the housinggring 12. Further heatdissipation is provided bya construction including pillars 28 extending from the housing base member 34 to support the ceramic element support 30. The use of such pillars 28and posts 38provides-zexcellent heat dissipationby the use of. ample air spacing between and around the supporting structures. The heat contact separation posts 38 apply pressure from :above to the metalelement ring 32 which houses .theceramic element support 30, the element 16 and element cover 14, to thereby maintain the entire cigarette-lighting element construction implace on the pillars 28. Furthermore, the cigarette-lighting element 16 isthus kept away from the housing ring 12 to prevent direct heat transmission to the metal housing ring 12 and then in turn to either the outside plastic housing 10or the user. These plastic heat contact separation posts 38, by providing such a space between the cigarette-lighting element 16 and the metal housing ring 1.2, assure an air-providing space for heat dissipation to keep the entire -.unit cool. The danger of the plastic housing 10 carbonizing and decomposing is also prevented by such aconstruction.

The element ring 32is designed to include element ring flap 32' which are peened into place (FIG. 2A) at indentations 28 at the top of each .pillar 28 (FIG. 4). The peening of the ring flap 32' is enabled by flap-receiving sockets 33 defined by the bottom of the ceramic element support 30.

It should also be mentioned that the construction as described herein provides adequate support to substantially avoid the risk of breaking if the unit is dropped. For instance, the pillars 28 are constructed such that if one were to chip upondropping of the unit, there would still be sufficient support strength to maintain the unit in usable condition.

The bottom part of the housing 10 is provided with a base member 34 for supporting the pillars 28 and the electrical means for the unit. It is recommended that the undersurface 35 defined by the base 34 can be constructed of a rubber or textured plastic finish to avoid the unit sliding on a desk or table.

In order to more clearly describe the construction of a cigarette lighter according to the present invention, a typical sequence of operations will now be described. The user places the cigarette in his mouth and lifts the entire unit toward his fact to project the cigarette into close proximity with the cigarette-lighting element cover 14 by extending the cigarette through the opening defined by metal housing ring 12. He then depresses the contact actuator 18 thereby forcing the movable contact 25 to touch the stationary contact 26. The electrical power would then be provided to the cigarettelighting element 16 and the user would hold the contact actuator 18 in depresed position until the cigarette is ignited. The user then releases the contact actuator 18 and sets the unit back on a table or desk.

in accordance with the above description, it may be seen that a cigarette-lighting accessory unit has been provided which is convenient, safe, and of simple construction with reliable structural elements and pleasing aesthetic qualities.

What is claimed is:

l. A cigarette lighter for igniting a cigarette comprising a cigarette-lighting element, a ceramic support for supporting said lighting element, electric circuit and power means and contact means for providing controlled electric power to said lighting element, a housing for said lighting element and said contact means, said housing including a base member, pillar means extending from said base member to support said lighting element, exposure means defined by said housing for exposing said lighting element, post means proximate said exposure means for separating said lighting element from said housing, said post means and said pillar means providing a heat dissipation space for said lighting element and an element-encircling ring for said lighting element, said pillar means including a plurality of spaced pillars each defining a top indentation and said element-encircling ring being attached in said indentations to structurally house and support said lighting element and its ceramic support.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said ceramic support defines bottom sockets into which said lighting element-encircling ring is peened for attachment of said ring to said pillars. 

1. A cigarette lighter for igniting a cigarette comprising a cigarette-lighting element, a ceramic support for supporting said lighting element, electric circuit and power means and contact means for providing controlled electric power to said lighting element, a housing for said lighting element and said contact means, said housing including a base member, pillar means extending from said base member to support said lighting element, exposure means defined by said housing for exposing said lighting element, post means proximate said exposure means for separating said lighting element from said housing, said post means and said pillar means providing a heat dissipation space for said lighting element and an element-encircling ring for said lighting element, said pillar means including a plurality of spaced pillars each defining a top indentation and said element-encircling ring being attached in said indentations to structurally house and support said lighting element and its ceramic support.
 2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said ceramic support defines bottom sockets into which said lighting element-encircling ring is peened for attachment of said ring to said pillars. 